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Need Some Advice on Sale Pricing

I have a 1990 Catamaran Cruser 34' Houseboat. NADA says suggest list is $32,000. Average retail is $14,000. I have gutted this boat. There is not much that was original. New cabinets, net toilet, new bed, new table to match kitchen counter. New fold out sofa bed. New water heater, new solar panels (3), new raw water purification system with uv sterilizer, new 2000W inverter, new batteries (3), new stereo, new VHF, new gauges. Wood on front and rear deck replaced and new carpet over the whole boat. New electrical control panel. New 27" TV with HD antenna. Exterior completely repainted and restriped. Pulled last year and any blisters were ground and filled with Ptex, it was then barrier coated and bottom coated. I also re-powered with a Mercury 90 4stroke from the original Evinrude 88 2stroke.

Yes, you get the idea. My company has surprised me and I intended to keep this one for a while, but it doesn't make financial sense to move a 10' beam houseboat for a lot of reasons. I hate to, but we have to sell this labor of love.

How the heck do I price this much improvement? I know I probably can't get all of these improvements out of it, but $14,000 seems too low. Advice?

I think I would put on my buyer's hat and see what's out there in the marketplace, regardless of the year of the boat. If a boat that has all of the upgrades you have done is a 2008 model, yours should be pretty close to the same price if yours is equal to the other boat in most every way. By "pretty close," I mean that your boat should be within 20% or 25% of the newer boat that has the same stuff as yours.

It might seem harsh that you take a 20% or 25% hit compared to a newer boat that has the same stuff as your 1990. To fully understand the reason for that, you might want to put yourself in a buyer's shoes for this for a minute. If you were looking at a 2008 boat sitting next to a 1990 with the same equipment, would you pay just as much for the 1990 as you would for the 2008? If you're like most buyers, you would prefer the newer boat but the older one might win out if the price were lower. More important, there are a few places where age is more than just a number. Financing and insurance come to mind. There are fewer lenders who will loan on a 27-year-old boat and fewer insurers willing to insure it. The good news is that if you find a buyer, they will probably be pretty savvy and understand the value in the work you've done and the equipment you've added.

I understand that; however, I cannot find any houseboats in my size or year range for anywhere near $14,000. They are way more expensive than that. A new CC is on the order of $75,000. I am thinking that I should ask just over $20,000 because you will not find one like this out there. I do know it will only bring what the market will bring.

The $20,000 figure doesn't sound too high to me. I just did a quick search of boats for sale and see a 2007 Catamaran Cruisers Lil Hobo 31 footer listed for $39,500. Let's say that it is pretty comparably equipped to yours and let's say that it sells for $35,000. Yours is older, so you take off 20% or 25%. You end up around $25,000 or $28,000 by my seat-of-the-pants age adjustment.

Yea, that is what I am thinking. Quite frankly, in a time where pontoons cost $50,000-75,000 - I would buy a completely updated houseboat for $25ish. I guess I can always try and drop the price if I start between $20 and $25,000. I have had some 10 boats and this one is our all time favorite. I hate to put all that work in place and leave it.

I moved my 18' x 80' houseboat through four states to have it close to me when I switched jobs. Moving a 10' x 34' boat is no big deal. Have you investigated the true cost of moving it? BTW, moving a boat is considered part of your moving expenses and can deducted from your taxes.

every boat I have ever sold I overpriced it so they could talk me down. so far i'm batting 100% if you have time to wait the right buyer will come along and give you your price. if not ,a 10x34 is not hard to move,take it with you.

I moved my 18' x 80' houseboat through four states to have it close to me when I switched jobs. Moving a 10' x 34' boat is no big deal. Have you investigated the true cost of moving it? BTW, moving a boat is considered part of your moving expenses and can deducted from your taxes.